Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to the field of car accessories, specifically a collapsible sun shield to protect the interior surfaces of a motor vehicle from excess heat and/or sun exposure.
Background
Car owners often leave their vehicles parked outside for long periods of time, whether in a parking lot while at work or shopping, or in the driveway of their own homes. Sun exposure for these long periods of time can cause extreme heat in the interior of a vehicle, especially in hot desert climates, and can cause discomfort or even harm to the driver and passengers. Sun exposure can also be very damaging to the vehicle's leather, plastic, and/or vinyl surfaces, causing discoloration or cracking.
Several products are currently on the market for protecting the interior of a car from sun exposure, however none are both convenient and effective in protecting a substantial portion of the interior of a car. For example, COVERCRAFT® sells sun shields that span across the interior of a car windshield, thereby partially blocking the sun's rays depending on the direction of the shield relative to the sun. However, these shields are neither efficient insulators nor effective at protecting the entirety of a car's interior surfaces regardless of the time of day or direction of the sun. COVERCRAFT® also markets exterior covers that must be stretched over the entire vehicle. While these covers solve the problem of protecting the entire interior surface of a car regardless of the direction of the sun, they are bulky, difficult to use, and inconvenient when one is pressed for time. Additionally, when in use these covers are exposed to the outdoor elements, accumulating dirt, dust, bird feces and/or insects. Side window sun shields also exist, such as the one taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,822, however these products can be difficult to use and require multiple units for effectively blocking the entire interior of a vehicle from the sun.
An improvement on the abovementioned devices is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,204, invented by the inventor of the present application. This device is composed essentially of a sheet of cover material supported by a frame that includes elongated arms situated horizontally along the opposite sides of the vehicle interior. However, due to the horizontal orientation and location of these arms, they need to include either a sliding or folding mechanism to allow the cover to be properly deployed in the vehicle interior and to be retrieved from deployment for storage in a relatively compact dimension. Such orientation and location of the support frame also works properly only if the segment of the cover it supports is flat, thus the cover cannot assume the appropriate angular shape needed to reflect the sunlight back out to the windshield, side windows and rear window of the vehicle. In addition, since these opposite elongated arms are not connected to each other, the user of the invention has to reach out to the other side of the vehicle and hold both arms of the cover while the related segment of the cover is slid or folded towards the desired direction, thereby making the cover difficult and cumbersome to use. None of the embodiments of this prior invention provide a systematic, consistent and quick way of folding the cover into a compact dimension for storage, thereby requiring a user to spend an impractical amount of time using and storing the device.
What is needed is a collapsible device that can cover the interior surfaces of a motor vehicle regardless of which direction sunlight is coming from, thereby insulating the interior, preventing excessive increase in temperature and avoiding harmful exposure to the sun's UV rays. The device should provide a systematic, consistent and quick way of folding the device into a compact dimension for storage after its use. It is desirable to have a device that minimizes the number of parts or components required for operation, as well as allows a user to easily deploy and retrieve the device from just one side of a vehicle without reaching to the other side. The device should also be useful without requiring modification of the car interior, such as drilling holes, and other permanent or provisional attachments to the car interior, such as hooks or hanging mechanisms.